Dana
/ˈdɑːnə/
"dana" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Dana” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #9,313 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #9,313
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An American surname.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Dana |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈdɑːnə/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #9,313 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Dana” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Dana is 4 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdɑːnə/. Corpus data places it at rank #9,313 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for Dana, with forms such as "adna", "daan", and "danna". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "day", "don", "DNA", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Of uncertain origin. Possibly from Dawnay, or else an altered form of Dan or Daniel. The correct English form is Dana, spelled D-A-N-A.
Definition
- 1An American surname.
- 2A unisex given name transferred from the surname, originally given in honor of Richard Henry Dana Jr.
- 3A town in Indiana; named for Charles Dana, a railroad official.
- 4A village in Illinois; named for Thomas Dana, a railroad official.
- 5A city in Iowa; named for Samuel Dana, an early settler.
Etymology
Of uncertain origin. Possibly from Dawnay, or else an altered form of Dan or Daniel.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: adna,daan,danna,ddana,dnaa
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Dana - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “Dana”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-A-N-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdɑːnə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “day” - see the side-by-side comparison. Dana vs day
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.